Communication systems typically operate in accordance with one or more communication standards. Wireless communication systems may operate in accordance with one or more standards including, but not limited to, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, global system for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA), local multi-point distribution systems (LMDS), multi-channel-multi-point distribution systems (MMDS), time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Some conventional advanced devices include multiple radios for transmitting/receiving using different Radio Access Technologies (RATs). Examples of RATs include, e.g., Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), cdma2000, WiMAX, WLAN (e.g., WiFi), Bluetooth, LTE, and the like.
An example mobile device includes an LTE User Equipment (UE), such as a fourth generation (4G) mobile phone. Such 4G phone may include various radios to provide a variety of functions for the user. For purposes of this example, the 4G phone includes an LTE radio for voice and data, an IEEE 802.11 (WiFi) radio, a Global Positioning System (GPS) radio, and a Bluetooth radio, where two or more of the above may operate simultaneously. While the different radios provide useful functionalities for the phone, their inclusion in a single device gives rise to coexistence issues. Specifically, operation of one radio may in some cases interfere with operation of another radio through radiative, conductive, resource collision, and/or other interference mechanisms. Coexistence issues include such interference.
This is especially true for the LTE uplink channel, which is adjacent to the Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) band and may cause interference therewith. It should be noted that Bluetooth and some Wireless LAN (WLAN) channels fall within the ISM band, and FIG. 1, for example, illustrates a Bluetooth and an adjacent LTE band. In some instances, a Bluetooth error rate can become unacceptable when LTE is active in some channels of Band 40 or even Band 7 for some Bluetooth channel conditions. Consequently, simultaneous operation with Bluetooth can result in disruption in voice services terminating in a Bluetooth headset. Such disruption may be unacceptable to the consumer.
With reference specifically to LTE, it is noted that a UE communicates with an evolved NodeB (eNB; e.g., a base station for a wireless communications network) to inform the eNB of interference seen by the UE on the downlink. Furthermore, the eNB may be able to estimate interference at the UE using a downlink error rate. In some instances, the eNB and the UE can cooperate to find a solution that reduces interference at the UE, even interference due to radios within the UE itself. However, in conventional LTE, the interference estimates regarding the downlink may not be adequate to comprehensively address interference.